Black Rock Coffee Bar, a Portland, Oregon based coffee company, has released the culmination of breakfast coffee with their Maple Bacon White Mocha. Described as “The taste of pancakes and bacon with maple syrup, ” the drink was fittingly launched two weeks ago during breakfast. Black Rock has been working on the concept for a few years and was finally able to bring it to market thanks to help from their flavor partner, Torani.

Why you ask? “The pumpkin spice latte is so 2003. It’s time for something fresh, something people can get excited about, something bacon!”, says one of the founders. The drink will be offered alongside the company’s fall lineup of drinks that include the usual suspects. There is also rumors of a “Secret Bacon Menu” floating around with even more eccentric off-menu options.

Black Rock Coffee Bar is a Portland, OR based family owned coffee company that opened its first stores in February 2008 and has steadily grown to 19 stores centered in Portland but spanning from Seattle, WA to Oceanside, CA. The company's goal is to create genuine lifelong relationships by intentionally engaging their neighborhood. www.blackrockcoffeebar.com

How to Make Chai Tea

Chai (pronounced as a single syllable and rhymes with 'pie') is the word for tea in many parts of the world. It is a centuries-old beverage which has played an important role in many cultures.

To make the best chai, whenever possible, start with whole spices and grind them yourself. This also saves money because you’ll have a bunch of chai spice mixture to make tons of chai whenever you want.

Rockin’ and Roastin with Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer

Aerosmith drummer, Joey Kramer, announced last week that his 100% USDA Organic Certified coffee line, Rockin’ & Roastin’, now is available in single-serve cups compatible with brewing in Keurig machines. After spending the past year developing and perfecting the single-serve versions with his roasting and packaging partners, Kramer is eager to debut his latest product which he is confident addresses a coffee issue many have experienced. Now available for purchase on the Rockin’ & Roastin’ website and soon in retailers throughout the country, Kramer’s single-serve, custom-roasted coffee brews come in a trio of organic flavors that represent Kramer’s favorite coffee-producing regions.

Kramer’s Rockin’ & Roastin’ ground and whole-bean varietals currently are available for purchase on the shelves of nearly 2,000 grocery, convenience and wholesale stores in addition to over 250 restaurants, hotels, golf and ski resorts, and educational institutions. Rockin’ & Roastin’ also is the official hot brewed coffee of House of Blues venues nationwide. http://www.rockinandroastin.com

Tea & Sweets
Fabulous Desserts for Afternoon Tea

The brand new Tea & Sweets hardcover book includes recipes for cakes and cupcakes, tarts and cheesecakes, cookies and bars—sweet treats are plentiful in this collection of delicious recipes from the editors of TeaTime magazine. Satisfy your sweet tooth with cakes, tarts, cheesecakes, cookies, and more!

Coffee Wine

Miami-based Friends Fun Wine — the makers of the 6% ABV “Fun Wine in a Can,” with products like Stawberry Moscato and Red Sangria — is introducing a new product into their portfolio, coffee wine.

Wine lovers and coffee fanatics can find their two loves in one ready-to-drink beverage. Friends Fun Wine’s latest product line is coffee wine, and flavors include Cabernet Coffee Espresso and Chardonnay Coffee Cappuccino. The non-caffeinated drinks should soon be on store shelves at Walmart, Save-A-Lot, CVS and select retailers.

The company, which markets its canned wines as lifestyle products for bikini-clad poolside types, says its redundantly named new Cabernet Coffee Espresso and Chardonnay Coffee Cappuccino are “easy-to-drink” combinations of the world’s most popular day drink with the world’s most popular night drink.

The cabernet espresso is described as having a “rich flavor of fresh cabernet grapes, espresso coffee and a hint of chocolate,” while the chardonnay cappuccino is described as a blend “sweet, refreshing Chardonnay grapes with vanilla cappuccino coffee and smooth hints of chocolate.”

“We are proud to be the first-to-market with our Fun Wine In A Can, and look forward to introducing the new coffee varieties to our Fun-Loving Fans,” Friends Fun Wine CEO Joe Peleg said in a product announcement.

Red Mango® Introduces Cold-Brewed Coffee and Lattes Across the US

Red Mango, the beloved yogurt and smoothie brand, recently announced the launch of its new Iced Coffee Collection featuring artisanal cold-brewed coffee, as well as iced and frozen lattes. With the introduction of these products, Red Mango is indulging its existing audience with an appealing and unique alternative for a coffee lover’s daily fix.

“We all know the traditional way to prepare iced coffee is to first make hot coffee and then cool it down, and pour it over ice to serve,” said Red Mango Founder Dan Kim. “Many times you’ll end up with a glass of diluted, watery iced coffee. To combat that, people brew coffee that is twice as strong, but it still has a bitter taste. We will be using a process that until now has typically been available only at local coffee houses – a cold-brew system. The coffee that is created, which is more of a concentrate and takes 8-12 hours to produce, has less acidity than hot brewed coffee. It’s actually the hot water that draws out the coffee bean’s oils causing the acidity, which is prevented with our method and makes for a smoother experience for our customers.” We couldn’t agree more. “Here at the Coffee And Tea Newsletter, we were able to sample some of the new cold-brewed coffee from Red Mango. We were impressed with the taste, it is something we would definitely recommend,” said Kristyn Dolan, Associate Editor.

American consumers spent on average $21.32 on coffee per week, according to data compiled by Statista, a statistics portal. Statista also revealed that when deciding where to purchase their preferred coffee, consumers rated the taste of the coffee as a key buying-factor.

“In understanding how important the taste of coffee is to American consumers, we made the key decision to use only roasted Lavazza beans, grinding them onsite at each store location, and utilizing this cold-brewing system,” Red Mango Vice President of Marketing Jim Notarnicola said. “Across the United States, we will be the first large franchise organization to use this artisanal method.”

Red Mango is proud to be brewing premium roasted Lavazza Tierra brand coffee beans, which are a 100-percent Arabica product made using the green coffees exclusively from three small-scale coffee-growing communities in Columbia, Honduras and Peru. The Tierra Project, developed by Lavazza, is a sustainable development project aimed at improving the living conditions of the coffee-growers through environmental, economic and social actions. Lavazza Tierra coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified, indicating that it has been grown and harvested with environmentally and socially responsible practices. More info at: www.redmangousa.com

Get Ready for a Re-Phil at 2nd annual
Coffee & Tea Festival in Philly!

Mark your calendars tea and coffee fans—the Coffee & Tea Festival: Philly gets ready to return to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center on Saturday, November 8th and Sunday, November 9th. After the overwhelming positive feedback from the inaugural Philadelphia area festival in 2013, the 2014 event promises to be even bigger and better than the first, featuring some of the biggest names in the coffee and tea industry.

The Coffee & Tea Festival: Philly is modeled after the successful Coffee & Tea Festival: NYC, which was featured on the Food Network's hit show Unwrapped and has been running annually since 2006. Last year, the festival debuted in the Philadelphia area and brought in a crowd of just over 3,000 attendees. "The Coffee & Tea Festival is a celebration of everything related to coffee and tea," said Kristyn Dolan, event manager at Starfish Junction. "This show continues to grow in popularity, allowing us to expand into new markets. Philadelphia has a great coffee and tea scene, it was a natural fit for us to expand into this market,” she added. The lineup of exhibitors, including national and local key players, is sure to delight all attendees. Like the New York City show, “this festival is targeted to become the area's premier tasting event,” said Dolan.